‘Italy and the European Commission have agreed on a plan to help banks offload bad debts, ending months of negotiations on how to ease the burden on the nation’s lenders while staying on the right side of European rules. Banks will be able to securitise bad loans, with senior debt tranches benefiting from a government guarantee priced at market rates, the Italian Treasury said Wednesday. The mechanism to remove soured assets will help lenders clean up their balance sheets and spur lending, the commission had said Tuesday.’